Streep, Colbert set for PBS genealogy show

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NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- PBS says its new show "Faces of America" uses the latest tools in genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 11 renowned Americans.

The series is to air Wednesdays from Feb. 10-March 3. Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be the show's host.

"Looking to the wider immigrant experience, Professor Gates unravels the American tapestry, following the threads of his guests' lives back to their origins around the globe. Along the way, the many stories he uncovers -- of displacement and homecoming, of material success and dispossession, of assimilation and discrimination -- illuminate the American experience," PBS said in a release this week. "Professor Gates's guests include poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama's inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, film director Mike Nichols, Her Royal Highness Queen Noor, actress Eva Longoria, actress Meryl Streep and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi."